Core fans need to adapt or die

Is there some misunderstanding with the definition of the word “fan”? Perhaps somewhere along the line, calling oneself a fan gives rights to bitch and moan about things that aren’t agreeable. That’s a given surely. But when does being a fan cross the line into realms of stupidity and ignorance, to the point of total disregard for anything else other than one’s own perspective. As a fan you either love and support something, or you don’t. If it’s the latter, then don’t call yourself a fan. Take sports and football as a good example. Fans support the team through the good times and the bad. There’s devotion, and when the team plays a poor game fans don’t give up and move elsewhere, they stand by the team offering continued support with the hope that things improve. Devil May Cry fans could learn something from this ideal.

This generation of gaming seems to have bred a disproportionate number of fans with loud voices. A group of passionate individuals who purport to know better than anyone else when it comes to making video games. But also a group who don’t want to visualize the market, and events beyond their own existence. A group who would abandon and belittle a franchise simply because they don’t agree. A crying shame.

It seems Capcom are well in the firing line from fans where over recent years have come under scrutiny for their antics with the Street Fighter series and DLC. More recently their re imagining of the Resident Evil series, and now the controversial reboot of Devil May Cry. Change within the industry has been coming and Capcom as just one publisher is having to adapt to changing forces in the market that dictate how much money they can harvest – just like many other publishers including console manufacturers such as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

In terms of the Devil May Cry franchise, the sales have been good over the years, and for a company that’s out to make money some things have to change to suit the changing tides of the marketplace; and right now the market is not the same as it was back in 2001-6.

DMC 1 sold approximately 3 million units to date worldwide.

DMC 2 sold 2 million

DMC 3 sold 4.3 million across two versions

DMC 4 sold around 2.7 million units despite being on multiple platforms.

DmC 5? – the market is different now and is it possible the sales will match or even surpass those of its predecessor in 2008? If they do, what does that say about the importance of the fans and their loud voices?

There’s nothing wrong with having ideals or preferences, and at the end of the day no one forces gamers to buy games – it’s all choice. But as the video suggests, gamers need to understand that the market dictates something very different now and that hardcore gamers aren’t the only focus.

It cost much more to develop video games, there are more gamers now than ever before, but the numbers of hardcore gamers are being dwarfed by casual audiences. To ignore this fact is to be ignorant. Sure, most hardcore gamers would love a return to the days where games were tailored towards themselves only – screw any casual players – but those times are gone and as suggested in the video, gamers simply have to accept this or give up buying games from the companies that are trying to survive in today’s marketplace.

The reality is, if you’re calling yourself a gamer then sure you have a right to ignore products you deem unsuitable for your individual tastes; but to go beyond this and ignore games without giving them a fair chance first does call in to question why you’re calling yourself a gamer. True gamers will and do adapt, and the rest will carry on with clinging on to a market that’s likely never to return. That’s evolution for you.

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Written by: Robert Cram

Robert Cram has hundreds of video game reviews and thousands of articles under his belt. He aims to remain objective and fair in his analysis. With years of experience, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement is entirely optional.